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The 2024 MLB regular season of the Houston Astros is not going as fine as most people expected it to be, thus far. After losing to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, 5-4, Houston has sunk to 10 games below .500 with the team now carrying just a 12-22 record — tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the worst in the American League West division.
The Astros could have avoided losing the series finale at home versus the Mariners, who are leading the AL West with a 19-15 record, if only their bullpen did a better job on the mound. Josh Hader, the shiny offseason free agent acquisition by Houston, struggled again, as he allowed a solo home run at the top of the ninth to Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh that broke a 4-4 tie and put Seattle in front for good. Raleigh was behind 0-2 before he took a big swing and took Hader deep, and it garnered quite a reaction after the game from Astros manager Joe Espada.
“0-2 count and too much of the plate, and it cost us,” Espada said about Hader’s pitch that got sent out of the field by Raleigh, per Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle. “We were ahead of a lot of hitters today. We’ve just got to do a better job of putting guys away. … You’ve got to put (that pitch) up in the zone. … He just kind of missed location,” Espada added.
Hader found success with his slider in his first two offerings to Raleigh but changed it up a bit after his second pitch, as he went to his sinker, a decision that Raleigh certainly made the Houston closer pay.
“I was just trying to get up and in,” Hader explained. “Obviously, there were two good sliders beforehand. In hindsight, if I make my pitch and he whiffs on the fastball, we probably don’t talk about it. I don’t know. We’ll never find out.
“There’s always that second-guess that I could have thrown (another) slider and hung a slider, and he could have hit that out, too. It’s always easier to second-guess once the damage is done, but I just didn’t execute my pitch,” Hader continued.
Big Dumper off Josh Hader for the lead in the ninth! pic.twitter.com/XflHqWs62i
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 5, 2024
On the season, Hader has a 1-3 record and a poor 6.14 ERA and a 1.432 WHIP across 15 games (14.2 innings)/
Fans react to Josh Hader’s blunder in Astros’ loss to Mariners
“I’m so glad we spent a whole ass Brinks truck on Josh Hader. What would we do without him??? #Relentless,” a sarcastic @Swestfall said.
“Is anyone delusional enough to reply to this tweet and tell me why the Josh Hader contract will ultimately benefit the Astros?
” a disgruntled @AstrosJosh said.
“I’d like to see Josh Hader made available for postgame interview. I’d like to hear from him on what exactly he thinks is the reason that he f**king sucks a*s so much this season,” an angry @BenOndaTop posted on X.
Even Bryan Abreu has seemingly caught the ire of mad Astros fans. He pitched in the eighth inning of the Mariners game and gave up the game-tying run off of a Dylan Moore single.
“The back of the bullpen ruining a game again. There’s a reason the Astros haven’t won a game where they’ve trailed after the 7th. Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader lost this game. The back end was supposed to be a strength and has been a nightmare. Unacceptable,” shared @michaelschwab13.
“Astros Game 34. Josh Hader appears to be taking the Jose Abreu route where you come to Houston, get paid A LOT of money, and are a complete waste. Bryan Abreu sucks too. Pathetic,” @DanTheMan4256 chimed in.
More must-reads:
- Giants All-Star pitcher suffers setback in recovery from injury
- Dodgers add recently acquired left-hander to active roster
- The 'No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft' quiz
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